GCE Hire Fleet United Counties Football League
Reserve Division
Saturday 7th March 2026
Rothwell Corinthians Reserves (0) – (6) Harborough Town Under 21’s
Report – Josh Unsworth
Harborough Town U21s delivered a dominant and assured display as they comfortably defeated Rothwell Corinthians Reserves 6–0, controlling the match from start to finish and creating the vast majority of the chances throughout an impressive away performance.
From the opening stages, Harborough looked sharp and purposeful, moving the ball quickly and asserting control of possession. The Young Bees dictated the tempo and regularly forced Rothwell back into their own half, probing patiently for openings while limiting the hosts to very little attacking threat of their own.
The visitors eventually took the lead in the first half following sustained pressure. A powerful effort from distance by Oliver Price forced the Rothwell goalkeeper into a strong save, but he could only parry the ball straight into the path of Shaan Virk, who reacted quickest to tap home from close range and give Harborough a deserved advantage.
Harborough went into the break 1–0 up, though the scoreline could easily have been more after a first half in which they controlled possession, dictated the tempo and created several promising opportunities around the Rothwell penalty area.
The second half saw the visitors turn their dominance into goals as they continued to play with confidence and attacking intent.
Shaan Virk grabbed his second of the afternoon to make it 2–0, finishing superbly into the top corner after being slipped through by Cyprian Mtenga, who showed great awareness to pick out his teammate with a perfectly weighted pass.
Harborough added a third following some excellent play down the left flank. Oliver Price combined neatly with Lovell Edwards before showing brilliant footwork to create space inside the area and calmly slot home his ninth goal of the season.
Substitute Archie O’Donnell then made an immediate impact after entering the fray, demonstrating why he is the team’s top scorer with a composed finish low to the goalkeeper’s right to extend the lead to 4–0.
The fifth goal arrived in spectacular fashion when Saad Hamrad unleashed a powerful strike from around 20 yards that crashed off the crossbar and bounced into the net, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
Harborough completed the scoring late on after Zak Gillespie weaved his way through the Rothwell defence with a determined run before being brought down inside the penalty area. Archie O’Donnell stepped up confidently and converted from the spot to secure his brace and cap off an impressive 6–0 victory.
It was a thoroughly professional performance from Harborough Town U21s, who controlled the game throughout and showed quality and composure in front of goal to run out convincing winners.
After the game, U21 Head Coach Josh Unsworth said:
““Really pleased with today’s performance.
A few rested for Friday which allowed a few younger lads to start after a while and they did the job.”